| Gozira Special Dinner |
| We
in the West are lucky; when punk hit, it brought the do it yourself
aesthetic with it. People had started their own independent record
labels before the Buzzcocks unleashed their debut EP (Spiral Scratch)
upon an unsuspecting world, but punk made everybody think they could do
it, and once freed of the constraints of the music industry, the music
flourished. Japan didn't happen in the same way…while the folk boom of
the late 60s and early 70s led to some decent sized indie labels (such
as URC,) the general DIY mindset didn't really hit the music scene
until many, many years later. Even by the time punk hit Japan in the
late 70s, the common wisdom was still that if you wanted to make a
record, you needed a major label contract. As a result, many seminal and deeply important Japanese punk bands left little to no recorded traces of their existence. Kita Kyushu's Drill, arguably the very first punk band in Japan, left only a reel of 16mm film behind…and even that's just a rumor. Fortunately, not everyone was asleep at the switch; in Tokyo, labels such as City Rockers tried their hand at selling the burgeoning new movement. Even so, this stuff has been amazingly difficult to track down. In 1978, former 3/3 bassist Higo Hiroshi inaugurated the very first Tokyo Rockers label, Gozira, with a single by his new band, Mirrors. That single (衝撃X, i.e. "Shougeki X," or "Shock X," b/w "ミラーズ," i.e. "Mirrors") opens the compilation Gozira Special Dinner, a ludicrously rare (500 copies) LP compilation of the label's singles that has, at long last, gotten the reissue treatment. The opening run of "Shougeki X" seems custom made to herald a new era, its lo-fi scratch seemingly coming from a tinny, cheap Hell…albeit a thrilling tinny, cheap Hell, and the band's title song is a snotty "Sister Ray" by way of the Stones raver. Tokyo was always influenced by New York punk more than its UK counterpart, and Mr. Kite shows a clear Patti Smith influence all the way down to vocalist Emiko "Jean" Misaka (who, like Smith, sported a steely swagger and a literary approach.) "共犯者," ("Kyouhansha," i.e. "Accomplice") is a churning, Stonsey stroll through CBGBs-worthy filth. Guitarist Masatoshi Tsunematsu's contribution shows just how fully formed his jagged, acidic riffage was before he joined the remaining 3/3 members to form the classic lineup of the legendary Friction. Instead of Friction's arrogant No Wave, Tsunematsu follows the classic punk framework, peeling off an especially blistering solo in the middle of "き・を・つ・け・ろ" ("Kiotsukero," i.e. "Heads Up!") Well, we could go through the whole disc like this…as befitting a singles label that rose from one of the most vitally important scenes in Japan, every track is remarkable, and every band is important: Fresh (featuring a teenaged Kan Takagi, who would go on to a hugely successful career in hip-hop, working with the Beastie Boys and others,) 023 Maria would dissolve and morph into Non Band, and later the highly influential Jagatara. The only downside is the reissue's exclusion of two tracks from Pain (left out due to legal mumbo jumbo.) Pain member Gaku Torii would go on to Loaded and the Peacock Babies, alongside his crucially important journalism career. All that, and we haven't even gotten to the bonus stuff. A second disc of live recordings from the era is even more ferocious (and even more lo-fi.) Tsunematsu's raging "S.O.B." and Mirrors' "仮面ライダーがやってくる" ("Kamenraida Ga Yattekuru," i.e. "Here Comes The Rider") being clear standouts. As important as this stuff is, it's also an absolute blast. The super lo-fi proceedings were born of necessity rather than aesthetic, but there's no denying that time and trends have been extremely kind to this sound…repackage this on Siltbreeze and sell it as a new recording, and the Pitchfork contingent would be none the wiser. Anyone who has even a minor interest in Japanese punk is advised…nay, ordered…to pick this up. |